Many (Mis)Adventures
by Divine-Faithborn
Summary: A repository for One-shots and abandoned Ideas. All the cool kids are doing it ;D


(a/n): So, ultimately, I find that I have more ideas than I have free time to work with. Many of them never get past the pen and paper stage but a few do, and they get typed out. Even then, I honestly believe that I'm never going to be able to finish a story unless I can completely finish it quickly before I lose interest in them. I know that's a discouraging thing to say, but when I see other people's repositories of stories that they'll never finish I'm reminded that I'm just a human too. This area was inspired by the work areas of many other fan fiction writers.

All stories and ideas are available for adoption. If you want to, feel free to take one of them and roll with it. Please just shoot me a PM so I can at least follow them, thanks

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><p><strong>Title:<strong> The Long Road Home

Categories: Crossover - Naruto & Fairy Tail

Characters: Naruto Uzumaki, Kurotsuchi, Ultear Milkovich

Themes: Redemption, Family, Regret.

Date of Posting: November 6, 2014

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><p>"They say that if you pray hard enough, the lord god Uzumaki will protect you."<p>

The cold December air howled through the small trader's village of Landenshire. Located on the northern tip of Fiore's northern coast, the residents of the hinterland harbor made their living by trawling the sea and trading the goods of many far off lands. It was a small town, nestled between mountains to the east and west, a treacherous but mapped coastal shoal line to the north, and thick and dangerous forests to the south. The hearty villagers didn't enjoy many easy facets of their lives, but they made an honest and prosperous living due to their own hard work. But the story of Landenshire and its people is a tale for another time.

Sequestered in a small tavern next to the long dock lines rested a blond haired man. A cold pint of a traded beer was nestled in his hands as he idly listened in on the occupants of the tavern; their rambunctious boasting and stories providing more warmth and joy than the beer in his hands or the fire in the hearth.

"I know you won't believe it, but I saw him single-handedly destroy the research station on Attawan Island."

"The fortress owned by that magical development bureau? Bullshit!"

A guarded smile crept up upon the blond's face as he eavesdropped on the conversation between the two men next to him at the bar. No doubt the first man was telling a crazy exaggeration of a tale; but, still, it would be good for a few laughs – if nothing else.

As the man talked, Naruto couldn't help but find a bit of humor in the man's tale. After all, no one man could destroy one of the most heavily fortified buildings in the world. The magical development bureau was actually well known amongst the villagers of Landenshire, the heavily guarded research station received regular shipments of food and other supplies from a couple of traders. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that it would take an army to break the defenses of that tower.

Whatever they were researching, it was a closely guarded secret and they would die to defend it.

With a nostalgic grin the aged blond couldn't help but remember his own glory days. How many years ago had it been when he had wielded the power of the good tree? How many years had it been since he unified the Elemental Nations into an empire? How many years ago was it when he had brought peace to the world?

Despite all his power, he wasn't quite omnipotent. True, he had once thought that he could do anything; but there was one thing that he could never do.

'Not that it matters now,' lamented the blond as he took the pint to his lips and imbibed the drink in a single draw. This land was far from the elemental nations and the time had long since passed from when the land of ninjas was relevant.

Raising his empty cup lightly, a signal to the barkeeper that he needed a refill, Naruto Uzumaki remembered his life fondly. Or maybe it was Asura's life. Not that it really mattered. Regardless of who the blond really was, he was who he was and nothing would change that. Although the elemental nations rested across the sea of fates, his destiny had taken him far from there.

In fact, his destiny had taken him right here to this very tavern.

"I swear I saw him turn into a giant and then topple the tower with a single blow!"

"Are you still going on about that Davies? Shut up mate, you're drunk."

A pretty white haired waitress brought over a fresh pint for Naruto, depositing it in front of him with a wink and a smile. Reaching into his pocket for a coin, Naruto couldn't help remember how he had gotten here.

Although the Elemental Nations were a wreck, the fourth war had really changed everything. Naruto had taught them the value of everyone else. Though, more accurately, they had all taught themselves that lesson. Sure, Naruto was there as a shining beacon – a great paragon of the shinobi way – but it was mostly the hard work of the people around him. The first years were hard, as people resisted the changes and bickered over power and responsibility, but eventually they overcame their problems. Together the citizens of the unified nations accomplished many great things.

But, in time, Naruto began to see signs of change and regression. Every once in a while there would be someone scheming for power. Greedy politicians would exploit other workers for their own glory. Ninjas would murder other ninjas for their secrets. People would jealously gaze upon the power entrusted to Naruto and try to attain the power of the god tree. One man had even begun a rebellion, inciting hundreds of ninja in an attempt to remove Naruto from the world.

After putting the rebellion down, Naruto decided that it was time for him to leave. No matter how important he was to the elemental nations, he didn't desire to be a god. The men of the land saw him as that, so it was time for him to go.

"Well if it wasn't lord Uzumaki, then who was it?"

"I don't know Davies. Maybe it was that crazy Fairy Tail guild. You know how their guild leader can turn into a giant."

So over the seas Naruto went. It was the only thing that he could do. Along with him came a few followers – people that he had touched with the god tree's power – but for the most part the elemental nations had no need for him anymore.

Naruto, or Asura, or whoever he was, had been around with the god tree's power for a long enough time. While he still took the god tree's power with him, it was time for the next generation of ninjas…

… no, it was time for the next generation of humanity to do their part to continue the peace that Naruto had made for them. Time had proven that Naruto was just a relic of the past; and that relic needed to leave the people so that they could continue on in their own ways.

'I hope they're doing okay,' he mused in a rare moment of self-doubt. It was probably the alcohol talking but he truly did miss the land of his birth. Even if there was so much for him to do in Fiore, he truly did miss Konoha and the warm forests. Fiore, for as grand as it was, would never replace the attachment that rested in Naruto's heart.

But, if there was one unifying factor that both Fiore and the Elemental Nations shared then it would be the fact that neither land truly needed him or his divine intervention. Even without him, there would always be someone ready to wave the banner of humanity; someone ready to unite the world and bring peace in troubled times. It had happened here in Fiore countless times without him, and in the end it would happen just as well in the Elemental Nations

"I guess the world keeps turning…" said Naruto to no one before he downed his entire drink in one long chug.

Sometimes it was hard to remember that he wasn't a god. It was hard to stay humble and let the world exist without him. He could do so much to bring peace and prosperity to the lands that he visited, but he didn't. People still suffered from loss, even though his very presence in Fiore was a boon to the land. People still suffered as he stood by and did nothing, but in the end it was his passivity that was the most important thing. Unless he became like Kaguya, he would never be able to end all the suffering.

He would only cause more suffering.

Naruto shook the thought from his head; the alcohol must really have been speaking to him.

Although he still had the urge to be a big damn hero, he didn't ever want to become anything like what Kaguya had been. The rabbit goddess had ruled the elemental nations and become a demon that was lost in her own arrogance and self-doubt. She didn't trust anyone but herself and that was something that Naruto never wanted to be like.

There would always be pain and suffering in this world. It was simply a part of being alive. There was no real way to avoid that truth of life and, even if there was, Naruto knew that taking away the pain wouldn't really benefit the world. It was that pain that made the joys of life worth living.

Sure, he would make a few intervening actions, but he would never ever try to rule as Kaguya had done. Both his spirit as Asura and his mind as Naruto were in complete harmony; agreement upon the notion that the bonds of humanity were far stronger when encouraged and not enforced.

Leaving a few more coins at the table as a tip, Naruto slowly stood up from his corner and made his way out of the tavern and into the winter outside in the trader's village of Landenshire. Fierce winds chilled his core to the bones before they were halted by a thick woolen overcoat and a dense beanie hat appearing around him.

Such were the blessings of possessing the powers of the god tree.

His destination wasn't far. Just across the town at the other end of the hinterland harbor stood a hotel that was owned by an acquaintance of his. No, he wouldn't be leaving the village tonight – the sun was setting and a winter storm was approaching. Even for a hundred year old immortal, traveling in bad weather was a dumb idea.

Disregarding the notion of personal danger, it was still a massive inconvenience to travel in a storm. Knowing his luck he'd probably get snowed in beneath a tree and end up spending a week just holed up doing nothing.

'I wonder if Kurotsuchi needs some meal ingrediants.' thought Naruto in idle wonder as he passed by the entrance to the main trader's market. Even in the winter time it was still possible to find fresh, exotic foods in Landenshire thanks to its coastal access and nearby trade routes. Such were the perks of living in a trader's village.

Naruto debated going inside for a moment before the wind picked up and pulled his hat away. He grabbed for his lost beanie in surprise, but the gust carried his head protection well out of reach and into the air.

Gone forever.

There was probably a metaphor somewhere in there.

'I guess that means I'm going straight home.' thought a chagrinned Naruto as he resumed his walk to the hotels.

The journey from the trader's market to the hotel was rather nondescript. For the most part Naruto just walked at a brisk pace to avoid the winter storm as it rolled in. Still, the storm caught him on his coat tails as he rushed into the Ninja's Den – his hotel for the night.

"Well, look who the storm dragged in. I haven't seen you in months."

"Hey Kurotsuchi." Naruto smiled as his longtime friend and former compatriot Kurotsuchi greeted him at the door.

"I heard you blew up that illegal research institute." she commented casually as Naruto moved through the heavy double doors and into the sanctum of the followers that he had traveled with. Several ninja from Iwagakure were resting by a fireplace while Kakashi Hatake was sitting at a work desk with a pen and paper in hand. A pair of mist shinobi were playing chess while a third was staring out the window and into the fierce rain that had begun to relentlessly pelt the town of Landenshire.

For those blessed by the healing hands of the god tree, eternal life was an interesting side effect. Kurotsuchi herself had suffered from a bloody nose and gained an everlasting youth when Naruto repaired it.

She considered it a fair trade.

"I heard that they were holding human captives for illegal experiments, unfortunately when I raided them there was only one test subject there." replied Naruto as he moved behind the desk to give a hug to Kurotsuchi.

The black haired tomboy simply put a hand in Naruto's face and pushed him away. "Oh, is that your explanation for the little girl in your room? And here I thought you were just being a pedophile. I guess you were just doing your 'big damn hero' thing again."

Naruto frowned as he pulled his face away from Kurotsuchi's hand in order to make room. Backing up ever so slightly he dropped from his elated demeanor into a somber tone. "That girl in my room is Ultear Milkovich. You remember her don't you?"

"Ur's daughter?" inquired Kurotsuchi in a mild confusion as Naruto leaned back against a wall in idle thought, "I thought that girl died a few years ago?"

Naruto sighed heavily as he brought up his hand to rub the back of his neck - a bad habit that had turned into an admission of embarrassment and uncertainty. "I thought she was dead too, Ur was pretty upset when I wouldn't..."

Naruto trailed off idly as his eyes glazed over. For the longest time neither Shinobi spoke through the awkward silence that had seemingly descended upon them.

"It's not your fault." observed Kurotsuchi as she stared down Naruto, her gaze soft but firm. "I remember how furious Ur was when she was last here; but no lovechild of a mage and a shinobi has ever lived past the age of five. There wasn't really anything you could do about it."

Naruto winced as he remembered the unfortunate truth about mages and shinobi. While mages used magic in the world around them, shinobi drew upon the power of chakra inside them. Both used their powers to create wondrous things, but the two systems were like oil and water: completely incompatible and separate from one another.

Not that Naruto or any of the other shinobi had known of that when they first arrived in Fiore.

With a deep frown on his face, Naruto reminisced upon the last two encounters that he had had with the legendary ice mage. Nearly three years ago she had wandered into the town in search of him. The single mother had brought her sick daughter, the same Ultear that was now resting inside the hotel, in hopes of having Naruto heal her daughter's illness.

Though, illness wasn't really the right word. Ultear had been the daughter of a male shinobi and a female mage. As a result she had been born with the capabilities to perform both magic and ninjutsu. However, those two systems fought for dominance and destroyed the body in the process. While one grew, the other withered. And when either of the two systems completely withered away, the child inevitably died as a result.

Naruto had personally watched as dozens of his followers had children with the general population in Fiore. He had suffered with them as their own children died in their arms. He had endured their stinging words and hateful glares before many of them turned their backs on him.

Of the hundred or so Shinobi that had initially accompanied him across the sea, only twenty still remained loyal to him today. But Naruto could never blame them for decrying his name and abandoning him. It was a terrible curse to be born as the daughter of a mage and a ninja; it devastated families and ended lives that hadn't truly yet begun. And there was nothing he or anyone else could do about it. Ur, like so many others, had been completely devastated to learn of that sad truth when he told her that he was powerless to save her child.

"She cursed me when she left with Ultear the first time." sighed Naruto in a heavy tone, "then she came back and cursed my name again. I didn't think she'd take her daughter to that damn research facility. I didn't believe that she'd ignore my advice and give Ultear over to let them experiment on her. I certainly didn't believe that Ultear would survive longer than anyone else has…"

Kurotsuchi's gaze softened mildly as she continued to watch Naruto tear into his regrets without pity. "You had no way of knowing she would ignore your caution. For all you knew those researchers were just going to experiment on her corpse. Besides, apparently the girl isn't dead. Maybe that means something. You haven't been sleeping around, have you?"

"Does it matter?" questioned Naruto quickly, snapping angrily at his fellow Shinobi before realizing what he had done. Anger turned to regret and sorrow as he apologized. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that. I shouldn't have lashed out."

That got a grin from Kurotsuchi. Hundreds of years ago she found herself following Naruto's banner and even now he was still an imperfect human being. He was impulsive, a bit bad at thinking, and childish - but he was still someone who tried his very best. He never accepted anything less than the impossible from himself, and he was a great comrade in eternal youth. Whenever he made a mistake he was the first person to own up to that mistake.

No doubt he would have flayed himself in front of Ur in atonement right now if that was what she demanded of him.

"It's fine, but it's not me you should be apologizing to." replied Kurotsuchi with a grin. "You know what you need to do; so just do it."

Naruto's frown slowly moved into a more neutral expression. "Ur lives somewhere north of the Kruin pass, that's about two weeks of traveling by foot and there are no trains or faster methods of travel. And it is winter, so we would have to take a wagon or something and have it loaded with supplies. That would only slow us down even more."

"Are you making excuses or observations?"

Naruto simply smiled at his female friend. "I figure if we leave tomorrow we can make it there by New Year's Day. Get a trade shipment ready and make sure that there are warming charms for the animals."

Kurotsuchi simply smiled with a foxish grin. Naruto was so sexy when he pulled together resolutions and plans out of doubts. Now, if only there was a way to get him to realize that he needed to settle down and have a child – preferably with her – to continue his legacy.

"I'll have it ready by noon tomorrow." Kurotsuchi replied, "Now go deal with that girl."

The first thing that the young Ultear Milkovich noticed was that she was awake. The warm sheets were soft and cozy, inviting her not to worry but to instead embrace them and rest herself. Rain pattered down a nearby window as she idly noted that the pillow beneath her tiny head smelled of the fresh rain and strawberries. It was tempting to simply rest in the strange and unfamiliar, but comfortable, bed but the fact that she was still alive forced her eyes open.

No doubt the guards would try to play nice with her before throwing her into an experiment.

But there were no guards…

The room around her was a mix between pristine order and complete disaster. On a nearby table there were stacks of books piled on both of the chairs almost to the ceiling. Hundreds of paper drawings of strange symbols were tacked onto the walls in a haphazard way as well; there wasn't a single inch of actual wallpaper visible to her. And yet, for as messy as the room was, there was a strange sense of order to it. There wasn't a single speck of dirt or grime anywhere and the room smelled of nice fragrance rather than musty disorder.

It was as though everything in the room, including her, had its own important place.

Thunder crashed outside of the window to her left as she was reminded of the world outside. The heavy rain pattered against the glass of the barrier as Ultear turned her attention to the world outside.

"Where am I?" she muttered to herself as she got out from beneath the warm covers and stepped out of her bed. As she made her way to the window she couldn't help but feel the familiar sense of confusion and fear race through her mind. With a cautious hand she noted touched the glass window and realized that, despite the warmth of her room, the world outside was quite cold.

Wherever she was, she wasn't in the tower prison anymore.

Even through the heavy rain, the glass gave Ultear a clear vantage point over a bay area. Two large boats were moored in the nearby dock and with every wave that crashed against them they rolled slightly. There was no one in the streets, but the street lamps along the edge of the water still revealed a large but empty pathway down away from her. The occasional shining golden light at the far edge of the bay alerted her to the presence of a lighthouse – protecting the ships in the darkness.

There hadn't been any windows in her tower prison. At least, if there were, the scientists and guards had been careful to make sure that she had never looked outside of one. Just the mere fact that she was given a window filled her with a slight hope that maybe, just maybe, she was finally free of that place of torment.

The gentle knock of metal upon the door tore her attention away from the rainy night outside.

Fear pulsed through her mind as she turned to the sturdy wooden door on the opposite side of the room. Who was it? Was it a scientist, one of those awful men who tormented her daily with those horrible experiements, or was it someone else? Were they here to hurt her or was it someone worse?

The door was knocked upon again.

Dozens of terrifying visions played out in her head as the door began to slowly open.

"Hello," greeted Naruto softly as he slid the door open with his foot. In his hands he held a tray that contained two steaming bowls of ramen. A calm but goofy smile adorned his face as he walked into the room. "I'm sorry if I scared you, but I thought you might be hungry."

Ultear watched with hesitation as the blond man strolled over to the table that was overloaded with books. He set the tray down on a book before waving his hands together and making all of the books disappear.

"Who are you…" she asked quietly before smelling a wonderfully alluring scent. Though she didn't know who the blond was or what he carried, it certainly did smell wonderful.

Naruto looked at her with a conflicted smile before speaking, "my name is Naruto Namikaze. But I should be apologizing to you."

"Apologizing?" asked Ultear in apprehension. It didn't seem like the man meant her any harm, but at the same time she had little reason to trust anyone.

"I destroyed the tower you were in, but I should have checked to make sure that it was empty before I knocked it down."

Ultear's apprehension turned into shock as she remembered exactly what had happened. The little girl had just been put back into her holding cell when the floor and walls started rumbling violently. Outside her locked door she could hear the guards panicking. But it had all happened so suddenly and then the walls collapsed upon her…

"You destroyed the tower?" gasped Ultear incredulously in disbelief, "but what about all the people in it?"

Naruto frowned and looked away from her before answering, "They were the worst kind of criminals. For that they're all dead."

With the realization that her tormentors were no longer of this world, Ultear fell into a deep silence. Her knees started shaking and she found herself collapsed into a kneeling position at the revelation that her former prison and jailers were gone. A tear seemed to hang from her eyes as she tried to swallow the fullness of the information that Naruto had given her.

She never noticed that Naruto had gotten up until he was next to her. With a concerned mental state, Naruto leaned over her and put an arm on her shoulders.

"Hey," he asked in an extremely caring tone that also portrayed his own concern for the little girl, "are you alright?"

Ultear paused when Naruto's hand gripped her. Unlike the scientists that would manhandle her in order to strap her to the machines, Naruto's hands were soft. They were comforting and not scary. They felt strangely familiar, just like her mother's hands.

The girl then began to cry heavily as she turned her head to Naruto. She sobbed gallons of water before moving onto Naruto with an almost unnatural quickness; almost jumping into his chest. She pulled herself onto the blond with a near death grip.

"Thank you!" she wailed as she held herself close to Naruto, "thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Naruto froze as the young girl latched on and cried on his shoulders. This was really the first time he had ever found himself in a situation like this – he had grown up an orphan and as a result he had never really had anyone to care for him. He truly had no grounding or examples on how to handle the situation – and the person in front of him was someone very important to him. He clearly was not qualified to comfort her.

And yet, even if he had never had anyone to show him what to do, Naruto still knew what he would have wanted that person to do had he been in Ultear's position.

"There there." comforted Naruto as he wrapped his arms around the girl's shoulders. The girl was so small and his arms were so large that he had to bring one hand upwards to her head while the other extended awkwardly at the elbow so that he could rub the girl's back. "You're safe now. No one is going to hurt you anymore. I promise."

The minutes passed in silence as the strange couple sat on the floor of the hotel room in relative silence. The pounding rain picked up and drowned out the girls tears to everyone but the two souls in that room. In that silent embrace, one sat in joyous reprieve; her endless torment at the hands of others finally over.

The other sat with a guilt ridden conscience; for here in front of him was a young woman, no older than seven or eight years old, that he had given up for dead.

And yet she was still here, still alive. The flesh on her bones was warm to the touch, the ears in her ears were soaked into his shirt, and he could even feel her little heart beating beneath her skin.

How could he have made such an incredible mistake?

"Thank you…" whispered Ultear one last time before disengaging from her hug. She released her tight embrace only to take a step back and look upon Naruto with a startling revelation in her eyes.

His smile wasn't completely sincere.

Sure, he held a brave face and he didn't seem to carry any alternative motives, but the little girl could tell that he was hiding something. In the corner of his smile there was a slight crack in his façade that betrayed his discomfort. The way his eyes looked away from her betrayed some form of inner disharmony as well. But what could it be? In any case, an untrained eye would miss it, but Ultear had perfected the fake smile during her years of captivity. She could tell that he was hurting inside.

"I'm sorry," apologized Ultear as she looked to the floor in shame, "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Naruto's false grin shattered in shock before he immediately plastered an even larger, and faker, smile on his face. He didn't know how the little girl had seen his inner pain, but he was determined not to show that side of him to her again, if he could help it at all.

"What? No! Nonsense," proclaimed Naruto in a tone that would have made Maito Guy proud, "You couldn't possibly hurt me!"

Ultear was taken aback by the man's sudden change of enthusiasm, but before she could talk he picked her up and ushered her to the two neglected ramen bowls.

"I assure you, whatever you think you did, you did nothing wrong. Now come on, this ramen is getting cold and it's a sin to let that happen. Now eat!"


End file.
